Peanut Butter Is Source of Outbreak
ATLANTA
(AP)
Consumers
should throw away certain jars of Peter
Pan and Great Value peanut butter after
the spread was linked to a salmonella
outbreak that has sickened almost 300
people around the country, ConAgra said.
Lids of jars produced by ConAgra Foods
with a product code beginning "2111"
can be returned to the company for a refund,
the company said.
The salmonella outbreak, which federal
health officials said Wednesday has sickened
288 people in 39 states since August,
was linked to tainted peanut butter produced
by ConAgra at a plant in Sylvester, Ga.
How salmonella got into peanut butter
is still under investigation, said Dr.
Mike Lynch, an epidemiologist at the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention.
ConAgra officials haven't said how much
peanut butter is covered in the recall,
which it called a precaution.
"We are working closely with the
FDA to better understand its concerns,
and we will take whatever additional measures
are needed to ensure the safety, quality
and wholesomeness of our products,"
spokesman Chris Kircher said.
CDC officials believe the salmonella outbreak
to be the nation's first associated with
peanut butter. The most cases were reported
in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee
and Missouri.
About 20 percent of all the ill were hospitalized,
and there were no deaths, Lynch said.
About 85 percent of the infected people
said they ate peanut butter, CDC officials
said.
Salmonella infection is known each year
to sicken about 40,000 people in the United
States, according to the CDC. Salmonellosis,
as the infection is known, kills about
600 people annually.
Symptoms can include diarrhea, fever,
dehydration, abdominal pain and vomiting.
The latest outbreak began in August, with
no more than two cases reported each day,
CDC officials said. Only in the past few
days did investigators hone in on peanut
butter as a source, Lynch said.
The recall does not affect Great Value
peanut butter made by other manufacturers,
the Food and Drug Administration said.
To
get a refund, consumers should send lids
and their names and addresses to:
ConAgra Foods
P.O. Box 57078
Irvine, CA 92619-7078
For
more information, call 866-344-6970.
www.conagrafoods.com
